Plunge milling

[RACINGCONVERTERS]

Is there a tutorial or demo on plunge milling anywhere. I looked through the documentation files and didn't find anything, but I may have just overlooked it. I also searched the topic and tried some of the things discussed, with poor results. So I think I am missing something and just need to read a breakdown of what it is asking for.

 

Thanks in advance

[Smit]

I don't know of any tutorials but if you have questions you will probably get an answer if you post them.

[RACINGCONVERTERS]

I am trying to plunge mill a pocket in a forging. So i tell it what the drive and check surfaces are then select the grid. On the grid i select the left lower corner of the pocket and the right upper corner of the pocket. The toolpath that it gives does not appear to be correct.

Now my questions are is this possible, how describe the stock beside my stock setup, and am I selecting the grid correctly?

 

 

I would post it on the FTP but I am not allowed to do so.

 

Thanks again

[Guest]

Can you do an "approximation" of it and I'm sure someone can help you set it up.

[generaldisarray]

I just searched the forum and experimented. I think I'm pretty good at it now. Some key points I use:

 

:follow NCI (pocket) as grid stinks

 

:you dont have to do the whole part in one op

as you may be more efficent attacking it in

multiple ops-directions

 

:Same as other surfacing, cut depths to absolute

and min & max set the same and to your max depth

(eliminates pecks and wasted motion)

 

:Follow tool mfg guidelines for stepover and such

[Guest]

I placed an example file on my FTP in the X3 folder

 

Plunge Example.mcx

 

ftp://mastercam:[email protected]:8021/

 

I don't know why but I tried, and this time Jay's FTP would not let me upload, so I placed it on mine.

[crazy^millman]

I would suggest using a highfeed cutter verses a plunge mill on a pocket. You need a starter hole if it is fully closed. We are doing some 10-2-3ti with a highfeed at 200 sfm .02 per tooth feed with a .045 ramp and it is working very nicely.

 

HTH

[RACINGCONVERTERS]

I just put a file on the cadcam's ftp with surfaces the represent what i am doing. The blue surface is my finish for the pocket and the fusia surface is my forging. I am trying to use a 2" iscar plunge mill and rough net +.05

 

thanks

 

sorry the file is called plunge surfaces in the X3 files folder

[Guest]

I placed an example on my FTP, the link is above

 

PLUNGE SURFACES_JMP.MCX

 

Again I can't save a file to Jay's FTP.

 

I created a pocket toolpath and ghosted it out, I used the nci of that tool path to drive the Plunge routine.

I used the floor and bottom radius' as drive surfaces and the vertical walls as checks.

[RACINGCONVERTERS]

JP,

Thanks for the help I think that I got it to work, but it seems that every time i goto verify any of my toolpath mastercam is having fatal errors and needs to shut down or it just locks up. Any suggestions?

[Guest]

Try using a bigger tolerance in Verify.

[RACINGCONVERTERS]

JP,

My tolerence is at .008 and it shuts down trying to pull up an stl of the first position.